The full 24-minute documentary can be watched here.
thanks a lot for sharing!
I think the “life after pi” got the point across already.
Apparently not, since nothing has changed.
I’m not complaining
The more the better.
BUT
are the people who can solve the problem actually going to watch those?
The people who can solve the problem are VFX artists. They need to mobilise, organise, and fight for decent working conditions.
Or be actually prepared to leave the industry instead of letting themselves get exploited.
As Mariana Acunã Acosta, former VFX Artist who’s now a Creative Specialist for The Foundry says in the trailer:
“What is your solution to the problem?”
- “Get out of the industry!”
The tough working conditions in the VFX industry (and the game industry as well for that matter) have been known for a long time.
However, there’s no impetus for the change people want as long as young people keep applying for jobs (despite having possibly heard the stories beforehand). The same is true for people who are tired of it, but remain at work despite the existence of other options.
The solution would be the artists jumping ship to smaller studios with good reputations (or simply starting their own where they can set the work schedule on their terms), there’s nothing that would stop them from doing that and it would be a better (and more market-driven) option than appealing for the government to stomp on their employers. This is a viable option to pull off because for every large studio, there’s a number of small VFX and movie houses that aren’t driven more by their financial elements than their creative ones (and then there are actual stories of people who built their own business and found success because they hated their previous job).
Also it’s hard to gain public support when everyone is so ignorant towards cg in general.
Fully agreed! People need to stop flocking to these supposedly ‘sexy’ jobs that in reality eat their souls.
Artists as well as the booming artist teaching and training industry that has sprung up online in recent years around courses and tutorials loves to recite the ‘follow your passion’ cliché like a religious mantra - concealing the fact that the conditions in this industry (as well as much of the AAA games industry) will turn that passion into a nightmare. It’s not just the overjustification effect, it’s way worse than that.
I can say that, while I love 3D, CGI and VFX - and hugely enjoy nerding out over them - I despise the VFX industry and am utterly tired of it.
Small studios with good reputations and decent working conditions can’t compete for bids against exploitative studios with insane overtime though. That’s the whole problem. Without unions and a legislative framework to improve conditions, it doesn’t matter if 99 VFX studios refuse to work for shitty conditions for Hollywood - as long as one of their competitors underbids them.
The studios can’t work on their movies if their favored VFX houses don’t have artists to work on them. Also, there is a proliferation of smaller movie studios which are pumping out increasingly successful works (that create an even greater profit margin than the big blockbusters).
I would also look with caution towards the idea of artists unionizing, because they may start out with noble goals, but will often become exploitative themselves (ie. they would start demanding that all artists become members, they would start demanding that all artists help fund union causes, and they would start demanding that artists ask them for permission before doing certain kinds of work). It gets to the point where you will be unable to find a job in VFX at all if you choose not to join the union and follow its rules (which can get to the point of controlling every aspect of your work life).
Do you expect all VFX artists to suddenly refuse to work for big VFX houses that do the majority of high-end VFX work?
There will always be some people who will do the work less money and shittier conditions as long as it’s allowed.
Sorry but this anti-union propaganda sounds like something out of a Target video:
Only in the US have I seen people genuinely believe union’s rules are more exploitative than the shit those corporations put people through if they’re left unregulated. #latestagecapitalism indeed
If you thought it life was tough as a VFX person, try finding work as a traditional animator. Try earning a living as a painter, a musician, an author or (for all the millennials) an indie game developer.
Concerned parents have been warning for centuries: An art career is a poor choice from a financial standpoint. Many of the greatest painters, sculptors and composers died in utter poverty.
If you want a good income, you need to find an occupation where the ratio of supply and demand is in your favor. It’s the complete opposite for art. In exaggerated terms: Everyone wants to be an artist, nobody needs an artist.
That’s not what people like to hear. People want the Pixar life story: If only you believe enough and keep trying, you will find success by the 90 minute mark. That’s not reality. It’s more likely that you will either fail or find yourself in a precarious situation.
The real problem is that the education industry wants to sell you an art career that it doesn’t itself supply. They don’t tell you the reality of your career prospects, just like tobacco companies don’t give you a lecture on cancer risk from smoking. They suck in lots of those “I don’t know what to do with my life”-kids, take their money (and often some government subsidies too) and then spit out graduates that the economy didn’t really ask for.
If the idea of working 16hrs/day on “sausage penis man” for minimum wage distresses you, maybe the job is not for you. On the other hand, if your other option is flipping burgers at minimum wage, maybe working “sausage penis man” isn’t that unattractive.
Whatever you do, try hard not to fool yourself.
The people who can solve the problem are VFX artists. They need to mobilise, organise, and fight for decent working conditions.
In other words: unionize. I don’t think it’s happening. You don’t really have the leverage. VFX just isn’t important enough. If VFX gets too expensive, it’ll get shipped out to <insert third-world-country here>. That’s already happening, sometimes with hilariously poor results - yet the audience doesn’t seem to care that much, nor do the producers.
There’s a difference between trying to make a living in an industry that generally doesn’t make a lot of profit and trying to make a living as a VFX artist, whose product leads to billions of profit every year - it’s just that it’s all swallowed by the movie studios.
That’s a false dilemma. If a company (movie studio) is making a ton of money off your (VFX studio) work, then it’s worth fighting to change the distribution of those profits in a fair and sustainable way.
Just going “Oh well, you chose to be exploited, deal with it!” isn’t going to cut it.
As if it’s not possible for union bosses to become drunk with power once their level of influence gets to a certain point (they can never do any wrong as if they are of a divine nature). It’s like the opposite argument heard sometimes that all executives, all investors, and all business owners, are exploitative, greedy, and psychotic.
I’m not saying there’s no place for demanding better conditions in places where they aren’t very good, but I really don’t think that every problem that could possibly come up regarding this world and society in general demands a government solution. You’re not a pre-programmed robot who has to work for a certain effects house (and ILM and Weta do not have a monopoly), so you can vote with your decision to take your talents elsewhere.
Nobody says that. It’s not black or white, and this reductive rhetoric isn’t helpful.
I wish we didn’t need unions. They’re an unfortunate necessity.
They’re not perfect, but having them is better than not having them in the vast majority of cases.
Ask the rest of the movie industry if they’d rather give up their unions.
The fine art, music, book and video game industries also makes billions in profit every year.
The movie studios also lose a lot of money in failed productions. If there wasn’t the chance of significant profit, there wouldn’t be any productions. Just consider the risk of a 300 million dollar movie failing hard. The VFX people are getting paid either way, aren’t they? If you want a part of the profit you should negotiate royalties (and accept lower pay).
That’s a false dilemma. If a company (movie studio) is making a ton of money off your (VFX studio) work, then it’s worth fighting to change the distribution of those profits in a fair and sustainable way.
I didn’t pose it as a dilemma, but it is a dilemma you may find yourself in as result of having made VFX your career choice. “Fighting for change” doesn’t pay your bills tomorrow, unless you are unionized (and get paid for strikes). I’m not saying don’t unionize, I just doubt you’ll be successful for the reasons I mentioned later.
Just going “Oh well, you chose to be exploited, deal with it!” isn’t going to cut it.
I’m not saying that, at all. Not being “exploited” may simply not be one of your options as result of your career choice. Even if you choose to fight (which I support in principle), you may not have success. In the meantime, you still need to pay your bills. Leaving the industry also may be an option you won’t end up regretting.
You know that comparison is nonsense (apart from the video game one). It’s not like two hundred people are working on a fine arts painting that makes millions and then they don’t get paid. If fine artists don’t make money, it’s because their product doesn’t produce a lot of (economic) value. VFX artists’ product does produce a lot of economic value to the movie studios.
Hollywood is making record profits year over year. Just because a film may bomb here or there doesn’t change the economics of the industry.
To be frank, I’m a bit shocked how much ‘pure ideology’ I seem to encounter here - in a CGI/VFX forums of all places - while trying to advocate for better working conditions. 
I’m not comparing the working conditions (they are of course quite dissimilar), I just mention it as an aside. I don’t think pointing out the stark contrast in company profits and employee pay is helping your argument at all, because you’ll find that situation in many industries, even very important ones. The underlying cause is essentially the same though: Oversupply of labor versus undersupply in demand. Unlike many other industries though, the arts are of minimal importance to the overall economy. That’s what makes unionization a highly questionable undertaking.
If fine artists don’t make money, it’s because their product doesn’t produce a lot of (economic) value. VFX artists’ product does produce a lot of economic value to the movie studios.
Don’t fool yourself into thinking VFX produces the value in a movie. People won’t just stop going to the movies when the VFX is gone. The film industry has done okay without VFX for its first 100 years or so. It’s just that since VFX has become so “affordable” that even flowerpots are added in post. If it became more expensive, it simply wouldn’t be done as much. Now that I think of it, maybe that wouldn’t be such a bad thing…
Hollywood is making record profits year over year. Just because a film may bomb here or there doesn’t change the economics of the industry.
You’re missing the point. You can’t just point at “billions” in profit and then say VFX artists (of all people) need a bigger slice of the pie. Everyone could use a bigger slice of the pie and then everything becomes unprofitable. Lots of studios have gone out of business because they weren’t profitable.
Now, literally ever major studio is (owned by) a public company, which is legally required to maximize profits for their shareholders. Somebody has to justify the VFX budget and if it ballooned up, the first questions asked would be: “Can we get it cheaper somewhere else?” and “Do we really need it?”.
Again, just because VFX people do so much work that ends up visible onscreen, that doesn’t mean their work is vitally important to a film production as a whole. It may be important for the quality, or whatever can happen onscreen, but not whether movies per se can be made.
To be frank, I’m a bit shocked how much ‘pure ideology’ I seem to encounter here - in a CGI/VFX forums of all places - while trying to advocate for better working conditions.
What I’m telling you is literally the opposite of ideology. I’m describing the situation as I see it, not as I want it to be (i.e. the ideal). In my ideal world, nobody has to work for a living and everyone has time to create as much art as they please. However, it would be unwise to make real world decisions based on that fantasy. That’s why I’m saying try hard not to fool yourself.
If you think my outlook is too pessimistic and you believe Hollywood VFX people have a shot at unionization and a resulting improvement in working conditions, then make your argument - don’t try to discredit mine by calling it “ideology”.
Don’t forget that the various A-list actors are responsible for a big chunk of movie expenses by way of asking for astronomical payouts (Robert Downey Jr. once demanded 100 million from Marvel if he was to continue playing Iron Man).
Sure, profits are going up, but so are costs (and a good chunk of that is the celebrities continually asking for more). You think the studios have unreasonable deals foisted on VFX workers, check out what the famous actors are doing to the studios (though the increasing number of successful movies with B-list actors should hopefully limit their bargaining power).
The whole puzzle of Hollywood economics and what could be done to make things fairer has more pieces than simply what the VFX guy is expected to do for how much (though I already hinted that one solution is to simply take your talent to a company who is known to be more appreciative and work for smaller, yet more generous studios).
Now that’s what I call bargaining power! Of course, the worldwide supply of Robert Downey Juniors is extremely low (approximately 1.0 as of 2017) and is only bound to fall.
Having said that, if the actors become too expensive, Hollywood can just reboot the whole thing.